The 100-Voice Project has been created to make a difference on the national music scene.
And what transpired at St Thomas Parish Church on Sunday evening pointed to an event that has the potential to become a staple on Barbados’ musical calendar.
The recital, produced by musical director Ryan Boyce, showcased the talents of Trinidadian soprano Jeannie De Bique, Vincentian tenor Addison Stoddard, Canadian pianist Sean Sutherland and Barbadians Stephen Brathwaite on baritone, horn player Kevin Gamble and guitarist/singer Father Charles Dominique of the Roman Catholic Church, all supported by choir and percussion sections.
Reverend Dr Michael Clarke, rector of St Thomas Parish Church, said they were contributing to the cultural decor of Barbados by bringing artistes from across the Caribbean; people who just loved music.
“The dream is that there will be a 100 voices some day soon and that there will be representation from all over the place. The idea is to create something a little different, but at the same time allowing it to be rooted in the church, not to be churchy but in many respects creating a kind of meeting place where the church can be a part and could contribute to the cultural dynamic without necessarily having a heavy message.”
Clarke added there was a need to get back to what was known; that church and life had been one of the same.
“More and more we are having this tremendous divide where in church we have to be preachy and that life is separate. Let’s celebrate life in the context of church because rooted in church there is life and rooted in life is religious response.”
This is the fifth year that the project has been going.
“What we have been trying to do is to build gradually a community of persons who really appreciate it [the event]. You would have seen from the way we set out the whole church by taking out half the pews. We don’t use the upstairs so there is a sense of closeness. It is an intimate engagement. We have not done a lot of massive advertising [but] we have been trying to create that niche to build over the years. It is not Laff It Off or Cohobblopot. The church building has its own character and it is about creating an experience,” the cleric stressed.
The charity benefiting from the event this year was Kiwanis Club Pride of Barbados.
